Our Story

Event directors Chris and Helen took on the organizing of Tuscobia in 2011 at a time when Chris & Cooper (both big fans of winter) lived in Minneapolis and Helen was commuting to California.

2012 update: Chris (& Cooper) also moved to California where he now trains by pulling a sled on the sand.  Well, not really, but it sounds good.  Juneau has joined the mix as Cooper’s little, but spunky, sister.

2013 update: Chris and Helen got hitched.  Juneau has assumed her birthright as the princess of the household.

2014 update: Chris moved to Oregon for a summer of wild land firefighting. Helen wasn’t sure he was ever going to come back so she decided to move too, and commutes to CA for 2-3 days most weeks.

2015 update: Life in Bend, OR is about as good as it gets.

2016 update: as above

2017 update: as above

2018:  Helen travels more now than ever.  Bend is growing fast, but is still a pretty good place for us all.

2019: Cooper turned 10 this summer but acts like a puppy and never seems to tire! Juneau prefers to explore at her own pace and smell the roses… or pine cones and juniper. We are somewhere in the middle!

2020: That was unfortunate

2021: With no Tuscobia to keep us busy last winter we decided to take on a new business – a yoga studio. Not the smartest decision in the middle of a pandemic, but much like Tuscobia, we like to keep our tax guy wondering why we don’t seem to be interested in making a profit. Chris dove right in and runs the day to day operations. Helen recently completed her teaching training and is excited to get lots of experience heading into the new year. Cooper and Juneau still bring us endless joy – and plenty of sleepless nights (unlike kids, we can’t seem to train them to sleep in their own beds). We are looking forward to our long road trip to WI and can’t wait to see everyone!

2022: How has it been a year already? Bend Hot Yoga has been keeping Chris seriously busy throughout 2022 which overall is a good thing considering where the business was when we took over. A week in the woods will be a nice change – even if he can’t exactly relax! Helen went back to her roots earlier this year joining a small start up based in Dublin, Ireland but is generally working from home most of the time. Cooper & Juneau are pretty happy about this and moved their dog beds under her desk. At 13.5 Cooper has slowed down a wee bit but still thinks he’s a puppy. They enjoy their daily walks and weekend snowshoe hikes especially this year with lots of early snow here in Bend.

2023: Chris continues to divide his time between the yoga studio and the golf course (the yin and yang, though which is which?). Helen took a long break from running this year after bunion surgery in February (it was time!) and is slowing getting back into it. The pups slowed down this year too and continue to bring us lots of joy and snuggles. Cooper’s mostly deaf and in that stage of life where some things are just out of his control. He’s also come to love ear and neck rubs as much as his little sister loves her belly rubs! As summer comes to an end, our focus turns to snowy trails and frozen lakes, and soon enough, endless checking of the weather forecast. Admittedly, it has been a few years since either of us participated in a winter event but that only makes us even more excited to get back to the Tuscobia trail and see all of our extended family.